John Carrara of The Goodman Corporation updated members of the Galveston Intermodal Transportation Committee on funding for the Livable Communities Initiative. Listen: RealPlayerMP3

"We're negotiating with the feds about getting the last amounts of money for the terminal," Carrara said, referring to the Downtown Transportation Terminal that is planned for the northeast corner of 25th Street and The Strand. "You may recall there is about $3.5 million that is currently available and another $3.5 that's pending. And it's that pending money that we're (negotiating for). They seem to be putting up one roadblock after another that we have to fend off and deal with, remind them of what they approved three years ago."

He said he expects those issues to be resolved by the end of September.

"Then we will have the full amount of money to move forward with the streetscape improvements and the terminal."

Carrara said that the city is still reviewing the offer by Mitchell Historic Properties to purchase the parking lot at 25th and The Strand from the Brown Family Trust; and to build the terminal on behalf of the city with plans to get the city's reimbursement for the project from the federal government.

"A letter of intent is supposed to be considered by council next week at their meeting, if the city attorney puts her stamp on it," Carrara said. "If that's agreed, to the Mitchell people can make their final offer to the Brown trust and purchase the property."

For the second month in a row, there was not a voting quorum for the meeting, thus the members heard the report as an informal workshop with no action.